CALIFORNIA: State budget officials reported falling about $2 billion short of revenue projections at the end of the fiscal year after several years of record-breaking returns, in what lawmakers worry is a potential sign of a broader revenue slowdown. California is unusually dependent on capital gains taxes for its revenue, but the weakness in the stock market could spread to other states. (Pluribus News)
MISSOURI: The state Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday approved a $40 million package of tax credits aimed at farmers. The full Senate is expected to act today on the six-year credits, after Gov. Mike Parson (R) vetoed an earlier bill covering just two years. The credits target gas stations selling ethanol, meat processors and urban farms. (St. Louis Post Dispatch)
MONTANA: A state judge has declared unconstitutional new laws ending same-day voter registration, raising identification requirements on students and barring outside groups from collecting absentee ballots. Native American groups had sued to block the new laws; state elections officials did not immediately say whether they would appeal. (Associated Press)
VIRGINIA: Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) is scaling back his predecessor’s goal of transitioning entirely to renewable energy by 2050. In a new energy plan released Monday, Youngkin called for a new small modular nuclear reactor to be deployed in Southwest Virginia in the next decade. The smaller reactors generate about one-third the power of a traditional plant. (Daily Press)
MINNESOTA: More than a million Minnesotans who worked on the front lines of the Covid-19 pandemic will begin receiving $487 bonus checks, Gov. Tim Walz (D) said Monday. The state approved 1,025,655 applications from front line workers over the summer. (Twin Cities Pioneer Press)
ALABAMA: Gov. Kay Ivey (R) says she is exploring tax rebates after the state closed out its fiscal year with a surplus. No specifics yet, but Ivey said she would work with the legislature to come up with a plan in next year’s session. House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter (R) is onboard. (Yellow Hammer News, AL.com)
GEORGIA: Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Monday signed an executive order suspending the 29.1-cent gas tax through Nov. 11, three days after he faces voters in his re-election bid. Kemp has announced new monthly exemptions every month since May. The average price of a gallon of gas is $3.17 in Georgia, about 60 cents lower than the national average. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
COLORADO: The number of individuals receiving gender-affirming care rose more than 300% between 2016 and 2021 after the state Medical Services Board began requiring insurers to offer transition-related care benefits. The change doesn’t take effect until 2023, but insurers are already including the package in their plans. (Pluribus News)
NEW YORK: The semiconductor manufacturer Micron will spend up to $100 billion over the next 20 years to build a new plant in Clay, about 15 miles outside of Syracuse. New York lawmakers put together a $5.5 billion package of tax incentives, one of the largest ever to woo a corporation. (New York Times) These mega-deals have a way of under-delivering. See Boeing, Tesla, Foxconn and myriad others.
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